Prosecutors Charge Ex-DNR Official in Data Breach

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Prosecutors have charged a former Department of Natural Resources official accused of illegally accessing drivers' license data on thousands of Minnesotans.

John A. Hunt of Woodbury is charged with six counts, including misconduct by a public employee and unauthorized computer access. The charges are misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors.

Investigators say 90 percent of the people whose privacy was violated were women, including politicians, judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, reporters and DNR employees. Hunt was the DNR Enforcement Division's administrative manager and had legal access to the records for official business only.

The charges also allege Hunt kept an encrypted file on a work computer with license photos of over 170 women.